Which mic? SM58 or cheap condenser?

M

mikeon

New member
Hi everybody, I'm new here and i have a few questions to ask...
Well I'm a 19 yr old guy whos fairly new to home recording, well I'm mainly into rap so I tried recording earlier using a PG48 directly connected to the mic input on the sound card.(I know thats a very wrong thing to do, but I was short on the moolah so couldn't get a mixer), anyways I'm planning on buying a mixer now and was wondering if I needed a new mic.So should I go for a cheap condenser or the legendary SM58? Will the sm58 really sound a lot better than the pg48 I currently have?I mean now that its going through the mixer will there be a lot of difference between the 2? Or should I stick to the pg48 and save up for a bigger condenser? Wat about condensers in the same price range as the sm58 ?

P.S :- I need a mic mainly for vocals only...

Thanks in advance. Feels good to be a part of this great community! :):D
 
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I don't know anything about the PG 48, but I can say that, unless you have a very quiet place to record, don't bother with a cheap (or any) condensor mic right away. If you're a strong singer, the SM58 can be a good choice, and is good about rejecting noise around you, which can be important to home-recordists. (maybe that's all true about the PG48, too - I don't know)
 
I was thinkin bout the same thing, the place where I'm going to record in isnt very quite so the condenser would be too noisy rite? So will the sm58 give me studio or atleast good enough quality vocals compared to a cheap condenser in such situations?

Does anyone know how much of a difference in sound quality there is between a pg48 and sm58? Wat bout sm57 for vocals ?
 
I would recommend the SM57 or a Sennheiser 835 in your situation. With the 57 you will need a pop filter or windscreen for vocals.

Cheap condensers are just that. Cheap! When listening through headphones they will make you ooh and ahh at their sensitivity, but can be difficult at mix time.

And yes, a good dynamic will be better for a noisy environment.
 
mikeon said:
I was thinkin bout the same thing, the place where I'm going to record in isnt very quite so the condenser would be too noisy rite? So will the sm58 give me studio or atleast good enough quality vocals compared to a cheap condenser in such situations?

Does anyone know how much of a difference in sound quality there is between a pg48 and sm58? Wat bout sm57 for vocals ?
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I gave one of my V69's to a friend and he can't use it because it picks up every car going by ..... every door opening or closing in his apt. complex ...... anything that goes by his window ... etc.
The 58 is actually on an suprisingly large number of commercial recordings so it would certainly do a decent job.
 
70 to 15,000 Hz is the frequency response of the pg48.... i know you could spend 200-300 bucks and get a mic that has 20-20,000 HZ. However, if your voice has a strong midrange tone to it- maybe a 58 or 48 is all you need. You should try to find a way to try out some of these mics before you buy.
 
Get an sm58, sm57, or both. They're indestructable, useful for lots of stuff and you can always get a good price on eBay if you eventually decide you don't like them.
 
In your situation, go with a 57 or 58. They are much better than the PG mics. Condenser would be ok, but like the others said, you need a very quiet environment to use it in, so the 58 would be more versatile for you and a step up from the PG.
 
Daveg62 said:
In your situation, go with a 57 or 58. They are much better than the PG mics. Condenser would be ok, but like the others said, you need a very quiet environment to use it in, so the 58 would be more versatile for you and a step up from the PG.
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+1

I have been down the "gotta have a condenser" road and I never found one that was as flattering on my voice as my good old SM58. Like mentioned above, if you sing pretty much right into it, you don't have to worry so much about external noise. Every condenser I used picked up dogs barking (or snoring) trucks passing by, AC unit next door, my foot patting the carpet and the PC fan noise. I got an SM7b, which is similar to the SM57 and SM58 in a lot of ways, but costs $350. I am happy with it, but if I knew 3 years ago what I know now, I would have just stuck with my SM58. The gear lust chase is a never ending quest that burns lots of money and time. Get a SM58 and spend all of your spare time either recording with it or writing new things to record with it instead of spending hours on the net reading about recording (like me!)

bilco
 
Thanks a lot everybody! SO i guess the sm58 is the way 2 go 4 me.... guess I'll be very satisfied with it... till I get a better/quieter place to record, Its the sm58 for me!

Is it true that the sm57 is used more in studios than the sm58 ?is it more of a studio mic?

Also...
Could anyone tell me how good the Behringer XENYX series of mixers is, the 10 input model... is the preamp on it really as good as they claim it to be ?
 
The sm-58 is perhaps the finest talk-back mic ever to grace a studio.

Granted, that's about all it's really any good for. Other than maybe a doorstop or a paper weight.

As for the Behringer mixers ... I would say they make fine headphone mixers in a studio setting. And they do double dutie as a place to set your coffee. And they have a really neat space-agey name. Xenyx.
 
I find the SM58 quite good for things like Guitar cabs and Snare drum/Toms and Vocals to some extent and it sure as hell is better than any of the cheap condensers I have tried in the same price range for the same duties.....



:)
 
I would personally go for an OM5 if we are to look at the hand held dynamic world specifically for vocals.
 
Is it true that the sm57 is used more in studios than the sm58 ?is it more of a studio mic?
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the SM57 is used more often on instruments - guitar cabs, snares, whatever else. be it live or in the studio, almost anywhere you go in the entire world, you'll likely see a 57 on a snare and/or guitar cab.

the SM58 is basically a 57 with a built-in windscreen for vocals. i'm guessing it was originally intended as a live vocal mic, which is what they're commonly used for, but they get plenty of use in studios as well.
 
I have to say that i've been far more satified with cheap condensers than i was with my sm57. I have a quiet place to record, the only time it's a problem is when it gets very cold and the heat is always going (rare in cali). I felt even my mxl 990 did better than both the sm57 i owned and the sm58 that's always laying around. My rode nt1a is soo much better. The sm58 is now just my "freestyle" mic.
 
the SM 57 or the SM58 are both better choices than the cheap condenser
I use the SM 57 primairly for micing Instruments or cab and the SM 58 is better suited for vocals, when ordering make "Shure" to get a windscreen.:D
 
I prefer the 57 to the 58. It seems, to my ears, that the windscreen on the 58 has some effect on the sound ..... it just sounds a little tiny bit more 'veiled' to me so I tend to use 57s fro voice.
personal opinion though so you know what that's worth.
And I prefer the EV Neodymium mics to the Shures altogether.
Once again .... just taste but the EVs have a wider freq response than the Shures so that might be what I'm liking.
 
Lt. Bob said:
I prefer the 57 to the 58. It seems, to my ears, that the windscreen on the 58 has some effect on the sound ..... it just sounds a little tiny bit more 'veiled' to me so I tend to use 57s fro voice.
personal opinion though so you know what that's worth.
And I prefer the EV Neodymium mics to the Shures altogether.
Once again .... just taste but the EVs have a wider freq response than the Shures so that might be what I'm liking.
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Just to shed a little light on th 57 vs 58 debate i asked about on antoher forum a while back:

While we're on the SM58 subject.. I've read that the 57 and 58 are the same mic. true or false?? I have a 57. will this do the job as wellas a 58 for vocal.

My Question: Are the 57 an d58 the same mic???

The short answer "True" and "yes".

Wait for it...

But....


These Shure mics will give you a vocal with a lot of "color". That "color" will not be "transparency" to say the least!! I believe the basic capsule of the 57 and 58 are the same, but they are tuned quite differently. Both mics have been used on some famous vocal recordings that you might know if you study this kind of thing. I'm afraid I've forgotten. (Again.) I suggest that starting out with either of these mics is an ok idea. Get great vocal tracks, write great songs. When you have some of that going on, then you'll know why you might want to use other microphones... or, stick with a good 'ol 58.
 
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